4G Modem Usefulness?

4G Modem Usefulness?

For all those that had or have 4G modem for the Iris, is it useful or even worth it? I have read that 4G modem doesn’t work with Iris’s battery backup. Granted, everyone said ideally you want a UPS which will probably last an hour or two, but what if I don’t want to spend the money on a UPS and want to use the backup battery on the Iris? My previous alarm had battery backup and the cellular module still worked until the battery was drained, which is just as long ir linger than a UPS. For safety purposes, what if someone were to cut the electricity? I can see the use of the 4G modem if internet goes out, but that usually occurs together with power outages due to bad weather in my area. This was a big reason I jumped from Smartthings to Iris because Smartthings had no battery backup. How is everyone’s experience with the 4G modem?

Re: 4G Modem Usefulness?

I have the same question. Is it really true that the cellular backup will not work on batteries? If this is the case, I would rather save on the modem, and invest in an internet router that accepts a SIM card for failover. It will cost me more in the end (new router, 4G modem, UPS), but it it will be a better solution. This way I can keep my entire internet up, not just the IRIS hub during the outages, so my other Wi-Fi devices stay alive as well (e.g. cameras).

The 4G modem is overpriced, by the way. In fact, the same model on Amazon costs about half, but IRIS explicilty says that we can only buy the version that they sell in the IRIS store.